Belkin 1-Outlet SurgeCube Portable Wall Tap with Ground & Protected Light Indicators - For Home, Office, Travel

We recently sustained a lighting strike nearby and a surge entered our AC power and wacked a few things. The surge protector on a board in the range blew (so did the $300 board), a surge protected outlet strip was blown. On inspection, the MOVs (the surge protecting electronic device) in these were burned out. The devices on the surge protected power strips survived. I decided up my game and install these SPDs on every 120V device that was plugged in. First though, I took one apart to see if it was junk or actually worth the effort and $$$. I have had good luck with Belkin products in the past...These have 3 MOVs in them: hot to ground, neutral to ground, hot to neutral. The MOVs are 22mm size, which is generous for something at this price point. Most important though is the thermal fusing device. When the surge begins to happen, the MOV begins to conduct current. If the surge is large enough, the MOV shorts out, the current through the thermal fuse heats it up and the fuse opens, disconnecting the AC from the device that is plugged into this surge protector. This is a great design. What I really like is the fiberglass pockets that the MOVs are wrapped in. When MOVs blow, they spray hot metal and these pockets will prevent that metal from blasting all over the interior of the case. Bravo to Belkin on this!This device also has 2 indicator lights, one for the AC out being live, and another for "grounded". If a surge occurs and the "protected" LED goes out, this means the MOV device is probably damaged and the whole plug device should be discarded. 1 in 5 of these that I bought had a faulty "grounded" circuit, the "grounded" LED was out. The MOVs were good, but the circuit that runs the "grounded" LED was not working. Note that this "grounded" LED does not indicate if the ground connection from the wall plug through this device is good. The ground prong on the input side of this device connects directly to the tang that forms the ground socket on this devices receptacle, the ground is not interrupted. Its just bad quality control.In summary, I think these are a good defense against all but the worst surge coming through the AC line. All the devices that have electronics in them in my house are now plugged into one of these.

I needed a one-outlet surge protector for my Peloton that had a small footprint. Oh, and aesthetics are important for me, so I didn't want some big, ugly contraption. This was perfection. The lights reassure me that it's working, and it leaves my other outlet completely free for use. I tend to gravitate toward familiar brands, and Belkin has been tried and true with me for years.

I exaggerate a little. Putting one of these in front of a fifteen dollar toaster would be kind of silly. But for modern appliances, A/V equipment, computers, and other expensive/sensitive equipment, it's a must for taming surges.My home insurer recently started a program, distributing "Ting" household electrical monitoring devices to insurance holders, for free. Ting just plugs into the wall, you configure it for your wifi, and leave it alone. It does highly sensitive diagnostics of your home's electrical system, continuously. It's revealed in our case that we get regular voltage surges up to 140 or so volts (we're in the US, with "120 volt" power, which normally does fluctuate throughout the day between about 110v and 130v).Our surges are clearly coming from the washer/dryer motors starting and stopping. Not quite sure what the specific 'trigger' is, as usually there's just one surge over the time period that multiple loads of wash and dry are running.Regardless, controlling surges helps devices last longer, reduces the risk of their failure, and protects against anomalous surges, as in when power comes back on after an outage, or other utility events (here in Northern California, we have "Public Safety Power Shutoffs" when weather conditions threaten to knock down powerlines, which can spark wildfires).I'm getting a whole-house surge suppressor installed next week - that'll be great protection from utility events. However, that won't protect devices inside the house from sending surges to _other_ devices in your house.At roughly ten bucks per, these are an excellent protective buffer. I have one on:1. The clothes washer2. The clothes dryer3. The furnace's power (big motor for blower)4. The dishwasher5. The microwave6. The audio and video stuff in the living room (in front of the UPS that also protects them)7. My PC, which is homebuilt, full of high-end components - and it's also in front of the UPS for thatIf you do your typical online 'research', you will find countless claims that you should never plug an Uinterruptible Power Supply (UPS) into a surge suppressor. It's ridiculous how many people repeat this myth uncritically, and with no evidence to back it up. Lots and lots of posturing and claims that the UPS can go sideways in a power event, with the surge suppressor and the UPS's surge suppression "fighting each other". Utter nonsense.*ONE* UPS manufacturer advises against using surge suppressors: APC. Nobody else. They only present their opinion for it, rather than any actual data. That's where just about everybody gets the 'expertize' to inform everyone else never to use a surge suppressor in front of a UPS.UPS's typically have very, very minimal surge protection built into them, typically less than enough to handle even small surges. But more important is this: nearly all surge suppressors are *sacrificial*. Meaning that each and ever surge reduces the lifetime of the surge suppressor, until eventually it becomes non-functional, offering no protection. Does your UPS have any sort of indicator on it to advise when the surge suppressor is no longer functional? Highly unlikely, most just tell you expected battery life, and that's that.The IEEE, NFPA, NEMA, *all* suggest that surge suppression be deployed before a UPS ('before' meaning you plug the surge suppressor into the wall, and the UPS into the surge suppressor). Note that they suggest it, they don't require it. Surge suppression is required at the utility service equipment, but that's to protect entire neighborhoods and regions from having homes set fire by a huge surge from the utility.This surge suppressor is small, both in its physical size and in its protective capabilities. But the more surge suppressors installed throughout the house, the more the total surge suppression you'll get - surges go to every outlet in your home, they aren't particular - each surge supressor absorbs some of each surge, so there's a cumulative benefit to having multiple suppressors around the house. And with these, you will know when the device has finally given up its life to protect your stuff - and it's cheap to replace. It's a fantastic bargain.Another coffee-fueled review.